Postage-stamp holder



(No Model.)

1. W; H'EYSINGEB. POSTAGE STAMP HOLDER. 1 No. 284,737. Patented Sept. 11, 1888.

WITNESSES: lNVENTdR N. PETERS. Pham-Ln'wgnphur. Wumn mn. 0.1:.

Qfflmav I 7 7 UNITED STATES PATENT UFFICE.

ISAAC IV." I'IEYSIN GER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA. g

POSTAGE-STAM P. HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 284,737, dated September 11,1883

Application filed June 23, 1883.

To all whom it may canccrn:

Be it known that I, ISAAC W. HEYSINGER, of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Postage- Stamp Holders, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a rear view of the stamp-holder, showing the spring-clamp B B, by means of which the device is attached to a pocket-book or other like article. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the stamp-holder applied to a pocketbook, both stamp-holder and pocket-book being open, one corner of a postage-stamp being visible in the receptacle of the holder. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section of the stampholder near the middle, showing the action of the spring hinge, clamp, &c.

The lettering in all the figures is uniform.

My invention consists, in the first place, in making a pocket-holder for postage-stamps provided with a spring-clamp or similar attachment, by means of which the said holder may be permanently attached to one of the i11- nerleaves of an ordinary pocket-book orportemonnaie, and habitually used thus attached, so that the stamps will be held secure against accidental loss when the pocket-book is opened for other purposes, and will not adhere to each other by reason of the pressure together of the sides of" the pocket book or moisture in the pocket,while the stamp-holder, being firmly attached to the pocket book, can be opened or closed with one hand while the pocket-book is held in the other, and stamps can be readily inserted or removed, as desired, without displacing the stamp-holder, which could not be done if itwere a simple loose box carried in one of the compartments of the pocket-book.

' My invention, secondly, consists in the special construction of the stamp-holding case or box, whereby postagestamps may be more readily inserted and removed, and are readily detached, even if adherent to the bottom of the holder 5 also, in the construction of the spring-hinge with a knuckle-joint, by means of which the lid will stand open, if opened far (No model.)

- enough, to manipulate the stamps, and will close with a snap and be securely held closed when pressure is applied to the back thereof or when the pocket-bookis closed. I also provide a thumb-catch for more readily opening the lid, the same being so constructed'as to be out of the way when the same is closed. The device is also adapted to be carried loosely in the pocket, and the spring-clamp B B may be used to hold car-tickets, &c., or by means of it the said holder may be applied to thelining of the pocket or other like part.

Referring to the drawings, A is the body of the holder or box in which the stamps, &c., are carried. It is preferably struck up from a sheet-metal blank, three sides having a flange thrown up to form the box, the upper side, A, being without a flange. I however usually raise a light corrugation (shown at A, Figs. 2 and '3) to make a neater fit for the flanged edge of the lid 0, Fig. 2, and also prevent the accidental slipping forward of the stamps while the lid is being closed. It also adds afinish to the inside of the box. One side of the box A is narrowed and prolonged into a spring-finger, B, which is folded backward, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, impinging at B against the back of the box A, so that it is equally sustained against slipping in all direc tions, and at the same time may be drawn off the leaf of the pocket-book to which it is ap plied, or changed in position without difficulty. As shown. in Fig. 3, the lower end of the clamp is turned outward slightly, to assist in applying it to the pocket-book. 'Ihe bottom of the'shallow box A is cut so as to form two spring flaps, E and E. These flaps are raised at their free ends slightly, and against these the edge of the lid Gimpinges, and depresses them while being opened, as will be hereinafter shown, so as to make a spring-lid without the use of separate mechanism. I use either one or more of these spring-flaps; but find two to be preferable if the box is of any considerable width, as the interposed solid metal assists in stiffening the box against side or diagonal strain.

The lid or cover 0 has side flanges, O, which are shown partly cut away on the sides; but, if desired, they may extend entirely up to the front flange or edge, 0 Fig. 2. It also has a rear flange, the whole being struck up from a sheet-metal blank. The rear flange, as shown in Fig. 3, abuts by its lower edge upon the spring-flapsEE of the box A. Atthesepoints the lower edge is prolonged beyond the general surface of the edge, so as to carry the spring-flaps backward beyond the level of the bottom of the box A during the process of to opening or closing the lid, and thus allow a knuckle-joint to be formed, so that the lid will' flange of O is not raised at right angles, as

the others are substantially, but slopes backward somewhat, so as to give a greater lift to the spring-flaps E E. The lid 0 is pivoted to the box A at the point D, preferably by a Wire passing through the holes-in C and A; or it may be accomplished by a stud and countersink pivot at each end, so that it will work freely and open and close, the spring-flaps EE acting against the raised parts of the flange G, Fig. 3, and closing the lid 0, unless the point G passes beneath the pivot D, when the lid will stand open.

To facilitate the raising of the lid I provide a thumb-piece, H, at the forward end of the lid 0, which lies nearly flat upon the forward extension of the box A, above A, when the lid is closed, but is readily lifted by the thumb or finger. I sometimes interpose a middle leaf or leaves, either actuated by a spring or by friction, in the box A to separate the different denominations of stamps, or I carry the wire hinge-pin forward by a bend'in the middle portion thereof 5 and I sometimes also dispense with the spring-hinge G D, simply bending the metal over, so as to constitute a stampholder made out of a single piece, when special features or cheapness of construction is required. In such cases I usually provide a vertical channel or opening in the part bent over, whereby the stamps maybe slipped in said channel or opening. I also sometimes use a slidinginstead of a hinged lid, but prefer the form herein shown and described.

It will be observed by referring to the figures that the stamps cannot become stuck to the bottom of the box, so that a knife or the or out by the thumb or finger sliding in the finger-nail passed down from the front will not readily detach them, the box being open to the front until closed by the flange (3 of the lid 0. I usually make the box large enough to contain two stamps side by side, though it may be made smaller. to hold a single pile of stamps, or much larger for other purposes. It

is also well adapted to hold gold coin, and may be lined with leather or other material, if so desired. I usually make the box of light spring metal, preferably brass or German silver, and plate it with nickel or silver, which gives it a handsome and durable finish. While I describe the device specifically as above, I do not rigidly confine myself to the methods of construction therein shown and described, and I sometimes substitute for the simple spring clamp other equivalent attaching mechanism as, for instance, a pointed pin or a spring-pin to perforate the leaf of the pocket-book or the pocket, either with or without a catch-and thus hold the device in place, the object being to produce a detachable stampholder which can be permanently fixed for habitual use in a pocket-book and used therei T with, and also removed for use elsewhere, or carried freely in the pocket, when so desired.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Apocket-book holderforpostage-stamps, car-tickets, gold coins, or' similar purposes, provided with stamp receptacle A O, and spring-clamp B 13, substantially as herein set forth.

f 2. The flatbox A, having one or more springflaps, EE, formed integral therewith, in combination with the pivoted lid 0, having flanged edge G to impinge upon the said spring-flaps I00 and form a knuckle-j oint to hold the'lid either closed or open, substantially as herein shown and described.

3. Apocket-book holder for postage-stamps, consisting of the fiat box A, the hinged lid 0, providedwith thumb-piece H, and the springclamp B B, the whole constructed to operatesubstantially as herein shown and described.

4. The detachable postage-stamp holder A B 0, adapted to be clamped to one of the leaves of the pocket-book F by its spring-clamp or equivalent, and used therewith, .substantially as shown and described.

5. Apocket holder for postage-stamps, consisting of a box, A, and hinged spring-lid C, adapted to stand either open or closed, sub- 4 stantially as and for the purpose described.

ISAAC W. HEYSINGER.

Witnesses:

P. ODONNELL, F. L. RoEPKE. 

